ROY KEANE fumed Manchester United “would not have tolerated” one former Liverpool star’s behaviour at Old Trafford.
Keane relished his rivalry with the Reds as his side dominated the era under Sir Alex Ferguson.
And the no-nonsense Irishman took a swipe at Xabi Alonso’s antics as he tried to force through an Anfield exit.
Speaking on The Overlap, Rafa Benitez revealed Alonso had a deal agreed to join Arsenal in 2008.
But with Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard all unavailable to face Standard Liege in a crucial Champions League qualifier, Benitez was forced to play the Spanish midfielder against his wishes.
And that cup-tied him in Europe’s elite competition and ended up collapsing his Gunners switch.
Alonso stayed on at Liverpool for the 2008-09 season but then joined Real Madrid in a £30million deal at the end of the campaign – despite going on pre-season to the Far East.
He was supported by his team-mates and fans throughout the transfer saga – but Keane was adamant Alonso’s reaction would not have gone down well had he been in the Old Trafford dressing room.
Speaking to Jamie Carragher and then Benitez, Keane said: “Jamie you’re a Liverpool lad like Gerrard, sometimes a player wants to leave a club.
“But when they refuse to play and don’t want to be cup-tied, I’m surprised senior players don’t turn on another player.
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“We wouldn’t have tolerated that at United.
“I know managers can have a disagreement with the player and the player wants to leave.
“It is frustrating for managers to deal with a player who is not doing what he is supposed to be doing and everyone is being mates with him.”
Benitez added on Alonso: “Xabi Alonso was a nice lad and a good professional. Anything you could say personally about Xabi is right.
“Xabi had an agreement with Arsenal and didn’t want to get cup-tied.
“I told Jamie Carragher and Gerrard before the game that he had an agreement and doesn’t want to play, but he must because it is the most important game to qualify for the Champions League.
“Then when you were going out for the warm-ups, Jamie said, ‘Poor Xabi.’
“No, not poor Xabi, he is playing for our club at this time. During the season he was our best player and didn’t go to Arsenal because he had to play [for us].
“We don’t have the same relationship now.”
Alonso is, of course, not the only player to not wishing to play in order to trigger a transfer exit – with Norwich’s Jonathan Rowe criticised for doing so last week.
But Lyle Taylor – who did the same at Charlton to protect a move to Nottingham Forest in 2020 – defended the player’s selfish stance.
He said: “Loyalty in football doesn’t exist.
“If the player does well for the team and refuses to sign a new contract, that player is a Judas.
“If a player then decides to leave and go and better themselves in their career and their life, then that player’s a Judas.
“So I had to make a decision that was best for me because the club had already made a decision that was best for them.”
